Jenny Willott MP

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WILLOTT WELCOMES £1.1 BILLION STATE PENSION AGE CHANGE

October 14, 2011 9:19 AM

Jenny Willott, the Lib Dem MP for Cardiff Central and Co-Chair of the Party's Parliamentary Committee on Work and Pensions, has today welcomed the Government's announcement of changes to the planned increase in the State Pension Age for women.

Jenny had previously criticised plans which would have seen hundreds of thousands of women asked to work up to two years longer in order to claim their State Pension, at short notice. She called on the Government to provide protection for the worst affected women.

Thanks to this pressure, the Government has announced it will cap the maximum increase any women will see at 18 months. This is a £1.1 billion change that will see a quarter of a million women better off as well as another quarter of a million men who will see their planned increase reduce as well.

Commenting Jenny said:

"I welcome today's announcement that shows the Government has listened to our concerns and capped the maximum increase that women will see. This will protect a half a million people, including hundreds of thousands of women who would have been worst affected by the change.

"Liberal Democrats had made clear to the Government that the proposal to raise the age of the state pension was unfair on many women and we were joined by campaigners in urging the Government to rethink.

"With life expectancy set to increase, the Government's aim is a simple, decent State Pension for pensioners, which is easy to understand, efficient to deliver and affordable."